Face of This Place

Rutherford Seydel

In celebration of The Conservation Fund’s 30th Anniversary, we sat down with past Chairman, J. Rutherford Seydel, who joined the Fund’s Board in 1999. Rutherford then served as Vice Chairman from 2003 to 2008; and as Chairman from 2008 until 2014. Rutherford is a lifelong Atlantan and deeply involved with many local and national nonprofits. We sat down with Rutherford to discuss his introduction to The Conservation Fund and his experience with how the Fund has evolved over his time on the Board.

John Howard

In celebration of the Fund’s 30th Anniversary, we sat down with John Howard, former Superintendent of Antietam National Battlefield from 1994 to 2011. John grew up in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, and now lives in Emmitsburg, Maryland. His passion for the environment spans from visiting places like Mount Whitney in the eastern Sierra Nevadas and the Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Take a moment to learn how the Fund became involved in protecting parcels in Antietam during John’s 17-year tenure.

Todd McNew

After leading the Fund's Conservation Acquisition work in Pennsylvania for 12 years, Todd McNew is now a Florida Representative for the program. During his tenure in Pennsylvania, nearly 40 land conservation purchases totaling approximately 55,000 acres were completed, with a fair-market-value of more than $130,000,000. Todd also served as the Fund's lead on several Mitigation Solutions projects.

Erika McGilley

Erika McGilley is the Western North Carolina Business Lender for the Fund's Natural Capital Investment Fund. Her primary responsibilities include marketing, deal origination and underwriting for Natural Capital Investment Fund’s Business Loan Program in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Her goal is to provide funding opportunities to enterprises that address energy conservation, food production, and supply chain sustainability.

Mike Cox

Michael Cox is The Conservation Fund's Financial Controller. He shares his personal connection to the farmland of North Carolina and the perspective he gained on a visit with Resourceful Communities, a program of the Fund.

Whitney Flanagan

Whitney Flanagan is The Conservation Fund's Creative Director. With more than a decade of design and marketing experience, Whitney leads the conceptualization, design, writing, editing and production of digital and print media for fundraising and marketing campaigns with the goal of reaching new audiences while maintaining engagement from existing supporters.

Botanists at Our North Coast Forests

Botanists Geri Hulse-Stephens and Kerry Heise have spent countless hours crouched in our North Coast forests, cataloging tiny plants—and making big discoveries. So far, they’ve turned up a number of rare species that find refuge on the lands we’ve protected. Here, they describe their work.

Brad Meiklejohn

I feel that Alaska is the perfect example of successful conservation. We still have healthy populations of predators like bears, wolves and wolverines. We still have abundant wild salmon. We still have enormous populations of migratory caribou. And we still have the tradition of subsistence living, where people can survive on wild fish and game. I think all that stems from the fact that Alaska has the world’s finest network of protected areas. We are doing our part to improve on that network.

Blaine Phillips

Blaine Phillips is Senior Vice President and Mid-Atlantic Regional Director for The Conservation Fund's Conservation Acquisition program. First State National Historical Park is just one of many conservation successes Blaine has achieved during his time here at The Conservation Fund. Before coming on board at the Fund in 2003, Blaine was a Senior Attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center and his passion and commitment to keep conservation working for America runs deep.

Brian Dangler

Working Forest Fund Director Brian Dangler is a Certified Forester and an expert in forestland acquisition, management and finance, with more than 25 years of experience. Brian has worked at the Fund since 2008.